


Walking Home With a Dude You Saw at The 24/7

by evlpunky



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Gen, Ryoma works at a convenience store, Self-Esteem Issues, This is part of an old thing that I never finished, does not contain spoilers for v3 but probs makes more sense if you know whats up, everyone lives au, in the au miu was going to show up later but I never got to that part, they/them pronouns for korekiyo, virtual reality au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28123182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evlpunky/pseuds/evlpunky
Summary: Korekiyo and Ryoma catch up after the killing game.(Very old fic I made to vent and talk about my favorite characters.)
Relationships: Hoshi Ryoma & Shinguji Korekiyo
Kudos: 8





	Walking Home With a Dude You Saw at The 24/7

Cough cough. Heave. Cough. 

The heavy coughing could be heard through the entire store. The owner of the noise was huddled over the canned food, gripping at the shelf to stay somewhat upright. They shouldn't be out. They know this, but they also know they will need food tomorrow, and there's no sign of them getting better soon. Instead, they covered their mouth with a medical mask and trudged their way to the nearest convenience store. 

They really didn’t want to be here.

In the corner of their eye, Korekiyo noticed a passerby seem to check on them. They were about to excuse theirself but lost their words as they focused on the passerby’s features. He was shorter than expected, about half their height, but around their age. He donned an almost preppy outfit, contrasting the appearance they memorized so long ago. His hair, short and auburn. His face, round features with bright cheeks. Ryoma Hoshi?

Ryoma must have recognized them. Of course, it's easier to pass by undetected on most days, but their hair had grown out since their last attempt to cut it. More so, they’re wearing a godforsaken mask. Why is it on the one day they are wearing the damned thing, it is the day they see their old “classmate”?

Shock was the look that appeared on the pair’s faces for how long? An hour? 10 minutes? A clock would say less than a minute, but maybe one shouldn't trust clocks on these matters.

“Shinguuji?” Ryoma asked. Definitely, no one would, or should, want to speak with them. Korekiyo wanted nothing more than to drop their groceries and bolt. Instead, they stood there, blinking until another cough broke their silence. 

Ryoma approached them quickly but allowed them plenty of space. Or maybe he stopped because he remembered the type of person Korekiyo is and had second thoughts. Either way, Korekiyo was surprised an attempt was even made. Ryoma wasn't cold-hearted, but he remained in his lane, so to speak.

“Do you need help?” Ryoma said. Korekiyo noticed Ryoma’s name tag and felt enlightened as to why he encountered them.

“ I'm fine,” Korekiyo said, definitely not fine. “As for the food, I'll leave soon. I’m not going to touch anything I’m not going to buy.” Ryoma eyed them suspiciously, but allowed them to pick up the prepackaged goods. 

As Korekiyo went to the register, they could physically feel how barren the store was. They turned around, expecting Ryoma and his dead fish-eye stare, but empty aisles meet their vision instead. The counter had another worker behind it. The employee looked exhausted, but at least Korekiyo didn't recognize this one.

As Korekiyo passed through the door they could feel a presence behind them. They looked over their shoulder, but they somehow already knew that they would need to look further down. 

They tried to put on the face of the rational person they previously thought theirself to be.

“ There's a reason you are walking with me, yes?” Korekiyo focused their energy on keeping their voice level and cough-free.

Ryoma remained facing forward as he said, “ I was going to leave anyway because of my shift, but it's not every day I see another ‘ultimate’ student.”

“So you haven't interacted with the rest since then either?” They said, already knowing the answer. As much as the concept of friendship and unification was pushed in the beginning, they understood that many of the participants had reservations about continuing contact. Especially to someone like them. On the day the others left, Korekiyo refused to see them off.

“Few did. Most of them gave each other ways to contact them, but from what I know, most just went their own way. I haven't seen a lot of anyone recently.” He let out a breath that materialized as smoke in the cold night, “Part of the reason I decided to talk to you now, actually.”

“ Lonely enough to speak to me. How sad.” Korekiyo spoke matter of fact. 

“ I won't deny that.” Another exaggerated puff of smoke escaped him. Korekiyo wondered if he was purposefully emulating something. Their own mask prevented them from doing the same. It must be disappointing for Ryoma. The first sign of life from the group in two years, coming from an unsociable, abhorrent reject. They almost voiced this thought but felt it was too self-deprecating.

Instead, they asked, “So, what are you doing now?”

“ Mostly work. I tried going to school, but like everything else, that got shot to hell.” Despite his choice of words, he didn't look angry, just defeated. He shrugged. “Should I ask the same?” 

“ I have a similar situation, though I did not attempt schooling, sadly.” For the first time this walk, Ryoma bothered to look up at Korekiyo. It was a look of question.

“You don't seem like the type to do that. What happened to being all scholarly and stuff?”

“When I first tried to go back to the real world, I…” Korekiyo had trouble articulating their thoughts succinctly. “Well, I guess you could say I attempted schooling, but whenever I went out in public I would get... nervous breakdowns, I suppose. I couldn't even leave my home without something going wrong, much less go to school every day. It's gotten better, of course. But the first year back was spent learning how to function by myself.” Ryoma nodded along to the explanation. He understood.

“I managed to get a year in, but the cost was too much for someone who works a retail job at a 24/7.” Korekiyo nodded the same way Ryoma did. “ I think with the way things were going, I wouldn't have lasted long anyway. I'm not that smart and I never had enough time to get homework done.” As he said that, he stifled a yawn. They were approaching Korekiyo’s home.

As nice as having someone to talk to was, Korekiyo was wondering why they were having this conversation in the first place. Maybe Ryoma figured that since they would likely never speak to each other ever again it would be fine. Maybe, Ryoma was planning Korekiyo’s murder and this was all an elaborate way to find out where they lived. Maybe he really is just lonely. 

“ We are close to my house. Thank you for walking me home.” Korekiyo said, sounding a little too mechanical. 

“ No problem. Thanks for speaking to some weirdo who followed you out of a convenience store.” Ryoma said, humor tinting his usually solemn speech. 

“ You're welcome. It was nice being able to speak to someone again. I hope it wasn't too troublesome for you.”

“ Not really. I needed something to keep my mind off things anyway.” Ryoma looked more content than usual. Korekiyo wondered what sort of thoughts he was thinking to believe that this conversation was better. Still, if they somehow managed something good, then that was technically an accomplishment. Ryoma shifted uncomfortably.

“Well, get better. It’s not good to stand out here when you’re sick.” He said as he turned in the opposite direction. The accomplishment suddenly felt even smaller.

Korekiyo walked towards their home. They turned back to see Ryoma already gone. They already mourned the loss of a conversational partner and the return of the lurking loneliness that was their home.

**Author's Note:**

> This was the beginning of an au I made a long time ago where Korekiyo, Ryoma, and Miu become friends/later roommates after the killing game and work on their mental health together. I jokingly called it the Unwritten!au after the song by Natasha Bedingfield. Back when I was actively writing this, I was debating adding Gonta to the mix bc I'm love him. I still like the idea for the au, but don't have the motivation to finish an entire fic for it. My twitter has a couple of things about the au if you dig deep in there, like 2018-ish and I have a secret Pinterest board for it. My handle is the same as my name on here.


End file.
